December 04, 2022
For the Austral Academy's final school visit of the year, our team had a full circle moment by returning to Fremantle College, hoping to pick up our next recruits for 2023.
Fremantle College holds a special place in the Austral Academy program as it is the school we picked up our first Academy student from. Finn, our inaugural Academy entrant, was referred to us by his VET Student Support Officer as she recognised his passion and interest for all things life at sea and fishing.
As part of the Academy, Finn completed 110 hours of work placement at Austral Fisheries including his Elements of Shipboard Safety, First Aid and Coxswain Grade 2 certificates, all while studying his Certificate 2 in Aquaculture at South Metro TAFE, and finishing Year 12.
“Austral Fisheries was an excellent way to finish school and start my career as a young adult as they gave me support to do other courses that I wanted to do but would not of had the opportunity until I was well out of school. A massive part of my learning at Austral was about its sustainability program and the extensive amount of research that goes into each fishery to ensure its longevity. This part of my time at Austral was definitely one of my favourite things to learn about as I’m very passionate about these topics.”
- Finn, Austral Academy student
Year 10 and 11 Students from the Engineering and Marine Studies courses RSVP’d their interest to attend, and some took time out of their summer holidays to get their uniform back on and come back to school for our presentation.
Students were given an overview of Austral’s fishing and engineering operations, MSC certification, carbon neutral status and careers in the fishing industry by Ashley (HR), Sean (Operations- Southern Fleet) and Vinko (Fleet Engineer- Southern Fleet). The topics appealed to many of the students who were keen fishers, adventurers, environmentally conscious and hands-on learners. The students were aware of concepts discussed, engaged with the subjects (one student even checked the can of tuna in their bag to see if it had the MSC logo on it shortly after learning what the logo meant) and asked plenty of questions ranging from how the engine and propulsion system of the Cape Arkona works to Austral’s values and biggest challenges to how crew sleep on the vessels in rough weather!
The team spent time speaking with many students after the presentation to provide further insight into the industry, life at sea and tailored careers advice/ information.
“Thank you, it was a great presentation and the fact that the students were willing to sacrifice half of their lunch break to talk further clearly indicates their interest in knowing more about Austral and the career opportunities available.”
- Kellie, VET Student Support Officer
To top off the visit to Fremantle College, the Austral team were taken on a tour of the College’s modern Technologies facilities which included a full-size diesel engine, outboard motors, and workshop. The School hopes to provide more marine engineering training in the future to cater to the needs of industry and interests of the students.
Through the Austral Academy, Austral Fisheries looks to connect and support young people’s journeys into the maritime and fishing industry by delivering education programs on the infinite career pathways and job opportunities available across Australia.